Print Reusable Vinyl “Wallhogs” Posters from Your Photos

Looking to put your photos on display, but wondering if there’s anything more interesting than a plain old poster? Wallhogs is a unique poster printing site that, in addition to plain old posters, also offers canvas and reusable vinyl prints. I spoke with Kendall Schoenrock of Wallhogs last week, who gave me a rundown of Wallhogs’ product line.

Wallhogs specializes in custom print jobs from their users’ own digital photos, as well as offers photographers the opportunity to earn commissions on their photos through the Wallhogs catalog.

Reusable Posters: The Vinyl Wallhog

By far the most interesting Wallhogs product is their reusable vinyl poster. This specific Wallhog is printed on durable vinyl with a semi-adhesive backing that sticks to your wall, but can be removed and repositioned over and over. We’ve documented the process of ordering and hanging a vinyl Wallhog from start to finish for you here, in living color.

Step 1: Join Wallhogs and Place Your Order

This is the easy part: sign up for a Wallhogs account, log in, and upload your photo(s). Once your photo(s) are in the Wallhogs system, order up a reusable vinyl print at whatever size you like. To ensure a quality print, Wallhogs requires that your digital pics be at least 3 megapixels

Wallhogs welcomes custom orders. You can include special instructions with your print job, such as “cut my son out of this photo, eliminating the background”. The Wallhogs staff will take care of all the editing work before going to print.

For my print, I went with the tropical scene you see here, which I originally took on the north shore of O’ahu, Hawaii.

Step 2: Bring Your Wallhogs to Room Temperature

Wallhogs suggests that you bring your posters to room temperature before hanging them, to ensure they stay put. I laid mine out on the floor, allowing them to both reach room temperature, and flatten out. Like most posters, Wallhogs are shipped curled up in a tube, and would be quite challenging to hang straight out of the box.

While you’re waiting, make sure your wall is clean. Don’t use any soap or cleaning agents on it, and make sure it’s completely dry before you try to hang the Wallhog.

Step 3: Attach the Magic Mask to Your Wall

Reusable vinyl Wallhogs come sandwiched between a white backing, and a clear plastic “magic mask” that’s also semi-adhesive. Remove the white backing, align your Wallhog on your wall, and press the magic mask to the wall (not the Wallhog!). When you’re done, the Wallhog should not be stuck to the wall, but simply held in place by the magic mask.

At this point, you’re likely to get your Wallhog stuck to itself, or tangle up the magic mask. As the directions say, don’t panic. If your Wallhog, or the clear magic mask start sticking to themselves or each other, you can gently pull them apart without causing any damage.

Step 4: Adhere the Wallhog

Now it’s time to adhere the actual Wallhog to your wall. First, press the Wallhog to the wall with your hands, going top-to-bottom for tall Wallhogs, and left-to-right for wide Wallhogs.

Your Wallhog comes with a plastic squeegee, which you’ll now use to make sure the Wallhog is firmly in place. Once you’ve pressed the entire area of the Wallhog to the wall with your hands, use the squeegee to smooth out the poster, and get rid of any air bubbles. Slowly and firmly squeegee from the center, out to the edges.

Step 5: Remove the Magic Mask

Now it’s time to remove the clear magic mask and admire your new Wallhog. Peel the magic mask away from the wall, carefully separating it from the edge of your Wallhog. Once the two are separated, continue peeling back the magic mask with one hand, while pressing the Wallhog to your wall with the other hand. Perform this step in the same direction as step 4: top to bottom for wide Wallhogs, and left to right for wide Wallhogs.

Reattach the magic mask to the white backing, and store them in the shipping tube for when the time comes to move your Wallhog.

Admire Your New Art

Now’s the time to step back and admire the glory of your own photography gracing the wall of your home. Here’s how mine turned out:

It may look a little washed out — that’s because this picture was taken at night, in a poorly lit room, with a compact digital camera.

Wallhogs’ vinyl prints really are something else. I was originally drawn to them because they’d look nice without being framed, which turned out to be the least of their good qualities. My Wallhog blends in seamlessly with the wall, which caused a number of guests to think I had the beach scene painted on professionally.

Relocate Your Vinyl Wallhog

I’ve referred to this poster as a “reusable vinyl Wallhog” many times over the course of this article, so let’s talk about that for a moment. Vinyl Wallhogs are “reusable” because their backing is only semi-adhesive. Should you decide to put your Wallhog in a different room, paint your walls, or move to another home, your vinyl Wallhog can be removed and repackaged for transport without causing damage.

Visit the Wallhogs site for the official reusable vinyl Wallhogs installation and removal instructions. Head to their new account page to get started with your own order.

Further Reading

This article is part of a larger series covering different way to print posters from your own photos. Be sure to read the entire series, “Print Posters from Your Own Photos“.

This site does not sell Wallhogs. This article is simply a review of a product. This site has absolutely no affiliation with the Wallhogs company. You cannot contact the Wallhogs staff by posting comments on this page. Do not use this page to ask various customer service-related questions about Wallhogs. If you need assistance, please go to Wallhogs.com.